


Any Other

by j_gabrielle



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:37:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3647187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_gabrielle/pseuds/j_gabrielle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Good God Charlie! Get a grip of yourself man." He mutters to himself, reaching into his jacket for his sunglasses. Something in him twists and pulls painfully. "Just... Be good. Don't ask for more than you're given, Charlie."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Any Other

**Author's Note:**

> I think people underestimate the potentials of the Charlie/Merlin pairing.
> 
> Can be read as a tie-in to [Home Is Where My Heart Is](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3597009) but can be also taken as a stand alone

Charlie watches Eggsy climb the stairs to the upper floors of the shop, going to find their new Arthur, no doubt.The boy is so disgustingly in love, it hurt him to watch sometimes. He resists the urge to roll his eyes at his partner, still very much aware of the presence next to him.

"Don't you have somewhere else you'd rather be?"

Merlin raises his eyebrows, creasing his forehead as he does. Charlie swallows, turning towards the older man.

"So, I was wondering..." He starts, running his fingers over the spool of fabric on the countertop, tapping to an unheard beat. "If you'd be amenable to join me for dinner tonight? There's a nice Indian place that's just opened two streets away and I-" 

"I'm sorry Charlie, but I'll have to decline." Merlin cuts him off, unsmiling and eyes glued to his touchpad.

"Yes. Quite. Sorry." Charlie says, laughing. "Well. I'll see you tomorrow after the mock then." With that he makes his quick escape out into the street and away from the shop.

"Good God Charlie! Get a grip of yourself man." He mutters to himself, reaching into his jacket for his sunglasses. Something in him twists and pulls painfully. "Just... Be good. Don't ask for more than you're given, Charlie."

He turns a corner, hustling down the street against the stream of office workers on their lunchbreak. Voices rise like symphonies of accents and pitches, of varying topics and bellying different emotions, blanket him, hiding him in the crowd. Charlie lets himself slip into the role of another face without a name.

"You look like shit." He jumps, hand going to where he has a dagger in the line of his trousers. Roxy smirks, raising an eyebrow, clearly not impressed. "Well, let's have it then. What's got the ever confident Charlie Hesketh looking like a kicked puppy?"

Charlie frowns, wrinkling his nose. He folds his arms in front of him, resisting the urge to squirm under Roxy's all-knowing eye. 

"It's making me itch just looking at you now." Roxy grabs his hand, pulling him along. "Come along now. You probably haven't had anything to eat, haven't you?"

"I don't-"

"Hush. Just follow."

She wraps her arm around his, walking in step with him as they take the path through the park. "Where are you taking me?" He asks sullenly. The sunlight dapples the grounds around them. Distantly, they hear the sounds of the midday traffic muffled by the serenity of the park.

"You'll see." Roxy hums happily, the light catching in her hair. They pass the statues, going under the old oak tree when Eggsy comes through from a under a hanging of ivy, smiling with a thumbs up when he sees them. 

Charlie opens his  mouth to speak when Roxy squeezes her hand around the flesh of his arm. "All right, be cool. Don't panic." 

"Remember to breathe!" Eggsy slips in, grinning mischievously as he takes hold of Charlie's free arm. Together they bodily push him through, giggling as they do.

"Oh."

The single syllable hangs in the air, heavy and dripping with an unnamed emotion. Charlie turns around slowly, schooling his facial expression.

"Hello Merlin. Fancy meeting you here."

The man is sitting on a park bench by the ancient fountain currently bubbling away. "Did they put you up to this, then?" He asks, tilting his head as if genuinely curious.

"To be honest, Roxy waylaid me and dragged me here." He breathes, looking away. "I thought we were going for food."

The last statement gets a small quirk to Merlin's lips. "Well, that explains this then." He jerks his head at the basket by his feet that Charlie missed when he walked in.

"Those two..." He grits out.

If it were at all possible, the smile on Merlin's face grows ever the slightly more. "They mean well. Come on now. Might as well get this over with." He moves over, leaving space on the bench next to him.

Charlie moves and sits down next to him. Wordlessly, he accepts the offered sandwich when it is given, nodding once when he is given the surprisingly cold can of fizz.

He hears the sigh around his third bite of the sandwich. "Are we going to talk, or will we be finishing our meal in silence and cold-shouldered ness?"

Charlie concentrates on masticulating. "There's nothing to talk about."

Merlin slips a hand over his, running his thumb briefly over the back of Charlie's wrist. The motion is sweet, gentle. "You're cross with me."

"I am not."

"Yes you are." Merlin counters.

"If you say so." Charlie answers, snatching his hand away. He finishes his sandwiches in methodical bites. "Well, that's me done then. I'll get rid of the trash now, shall I?"

"Charlie..."

"No. You don't get to do this." Charlie snaps, breathing heavily. "I thought I could be all right with the occasional dinner and quick fuck in the dark and the never talking about it but I'm not. I really am not because I'm obvious, and they've noticed and I-"

Merlin slots his lips over Charlies, stoppering his rant. "You. I'm too old for you. I tried not to ask too much of you." He huffs a laugh against the corner of Charlie's lips, pressing gentle kisses into the crease. "You have absolutely no idea how much I want everything with you."

Charlie closes his eyes, frowning. "So what you're trying to tell me is that all this time wasted... All this time we could've just been. We wasted all that time because you thought you knew what was best for me?"

Merlin draws away, smiling down. "You would be correct." 

Caressing the side of Merlin's cheek, Charlie brings their lips close for another kiss. "Can we change that now?"

Merlin's laugh resonates between them. "Yes we can."


End file.
